Pepper hybrid PX 11404796

ABSTRACT

The invention provides seed and plants of pepper hybrid PX 11404796 and the parent lines thereof. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of pepper hybrid PX 11404796 and the parent lines thereof, and to methods for producing a pepper plant produced by crossing such plants with themselves or with another pepper plant, such as a plant of another genotype. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. The invention further relates to parts of such plants, including the fruit and gametes of such plants.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, morespecifically, to the development of pepper hybrid PX 11404796 and theinbred pepper lines SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The goal of vegetable breeding is to combine various desirable traits ina single variety/hybrid. Such desirable traits may include any traitdeemed beneficial by a grower and/or consumer, including greater yield,resistance to insects or disease, tolerance to environmental stress, andnutritional value.

Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination.There are two general methods of pollination: a plant self-pollinates ifpollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower ofthe same plant or plant variety. A plant cross-pollinates if pollencomes to it from a flower of a different plant variety.

Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type over manygenerations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce auniform population of true breeding progeny, a homozygous plant. A crossbetween two such homozygous plants of different genotypes produces auniform population of hybrid plants that are heterozygous for many geneloci. Conversely, a cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number ofloci produces a population of hybrid plants that differ genetically andare not uniform. The resulting non-uniformity makes performanceunpredictable.

The development of uniform varieties requires the development ofhomozygous inbred plants, the crossing of these inbred plants, and theevaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection areexamples of breeding methods that have been used to develop inbredplants from breeding populations. Those breeding methods combine thegenetic backgrounds from two or more plants or various other broad-basedsources into breeding pools from which new lines and hybrids derivedtherefrom are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes.The new lines and hybrids are evaluated to determine which of those havecommercial potential.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention provides a pepper plant of thehybrid designated PX 11404796, the pepper line SHY-114-1145 or pepperline SHY-114-1002. Also provided are pepper plants having all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of such a plant. Partsof these pepper plants are also provided, for example, including pollen,an ovule, scion, a rootstock, a fruit, and a cell of the plant.

In another aspect of the invention, a plant of pepper hybrid PX 11404796and/or pepper lines SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002 comprising an addedheritable trait is provided. The heritable trait may comprise a geneticlocus that is, for example, a dominant or recessive allele. In oneembodiment of the invention, a plant of pepper hybrid PX 11404796 and/orpepper lines SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002 is defined as comprising asingle locus conversion. In specific embodiments of the invention, anadded genetic locus confers one or more traits such as, for example,herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, disease resistance, and modifiedcarbohydrate metabolism. In further embodiments, the trait may beconferred by a naturally occurring gene introduced into the genome of aline by backcrossing, a natural or induced mutation, or a transgeneintroduced through genetic transformation techniques into the plant or aprogenitor of any previous generation thereof. When introduced throughtransformation, a genetic locus may comprise one or more genesintegrated at a single chromosomal location.

The invention also concerns the seed of pepper hybrid PX 11404796 and/orpepper lines SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002. The pepper seed of theinvention may be provided as an essentially homogeneous population ofpepper seed of pepper hybrid PX 11404796 and/or pepper linesSHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002. Essentially homogeneous populations ofseed are generally free from substantial numbers of other seed.Therefore, seed of hybrid PX 11404796 and/or pepper lines SHY-114-1145and SHY-114-1002 may be defined as forming at least about 97% of thetotal seed, including at least about 98%, 99% or more of the seed. Theseed population may be separately grown to provide an essentiallyhomogeneous population of pepper plants designated PX 11404796 and/orpepper lines SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a tissue culture of regenerablecells of a pepper plant of hybrid PX 11404796 and/or pepper linesSHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002 is provided. The tissue culture willpreferably be capable of regenerating pepper plants capable ofexpressing all of the physiological and morphological characteristics ofthe starting plant, and of regenerating plants having substantially thesame genotype as the starting plant. Examples of some of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of the hybrid PX11404796 and/or pepper lines SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002 include thosetraits set forth in the tables herein. The regenerable cells in suchtissue cultures may be derived, for example, from embryos, meristems,cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistils, flowers,seed and stalks. Still further, the present invention provides pepperplants regenerated from a tissue culture of the invention, the plantshaving all the physiological and morphological characteristics of hybridPX 11404796 and/or pepper lines SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, processes are provided forproducing pepper seeds, plants and fruit, which processes generallycomprise crossing a first parent pepper plant with a second parentpepper plant, wherein at least one of the first or second parent pepperplants is a plant of pepper line SHY-114-1145 or pepper lineSHY-114-1002. These processes may be further exemplified as processesfor preparing hybrid pepper seed or plants, wherein a first pepper plantis crossed with a second pepper plant of a different, distinct genotypeto provide a hybrid that has, as one of its parents, a plant of pepperline SHY-114-1145 or pepper line SHY-114-1002. In these processes,crossing will result in the production of seed. The seed productionoccurs regardless of whether the seed is collected or not.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first step in “crossing”comprises planting seeds of a first and second parent pepper plant,often in proximity so that pollination will occur for example, mediatedby insect vectors. Alternatively, pollen can be transferred manually.Where the plant is self-pollinated, pollination may occur without theneed for direct human intervention other than plant cultivation.

A second step may comprise cultivating or growing the seeds of first andsecond parent pepper plants into plants that bear flowers. A third stepmay comprise preventing self-pollination of the plants, such as byemasculating the flowers (i.e., killing or removing the pollen).

A fourth step for a hybrid cross may comprise cross-pollination betweenthe first and second parent pepper plants. Yet another step comprisesharvesting the seeds from at least one of the parent pepper plants. Theharvested seed can be grown to produce a pepper plant or hybrid pepperplant.

The present invention also provides the pepper seeds and plants producedby a process that comprises crossing a first parent pepper plant with asecond parent pepper plant, wherein at least one of the first or secondparent pepper plants is a plant of pepper hybrid PX 11404796 and/orpepper lines SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002. In one embodiment of theinvention, pepper seed and plants produced by the process are firstgeneration (F₁) hybrid pepper seed and plants produced by crossing aplant in accordance with the invention with another, distinct plant. Thepresent invention further contemplates plant parts of such an F₁ hybridpepper plant, and methods of use thereof. Therefore, certain exemplaryembodiments of the invention provide an F₁ hybrid pepper plant and seedthereof.

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method ofproducing a plant derived from hybrid PX 11404796 and/or pepper linesSHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002, the method comprising the steps of: (a)preparing a progeny plant derived from hybrid PX 11404796 and/or pepperlines SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002, wherein said preparing comprisescrossing a plant of the hybrid PX 11404796 and/or pepper linesSHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002 with a second plant; and (b) crossing theprogeny plant with itself or a second plant to produce a seed of aprogeny plant of a subsequent generation. In further embodiments, themethod may additionally comprise: (c) growing a progeny plant of asubsequent generation from said seed of a progeny plant of a subsequentgeneration and crossing the progeny plant of a subsequent generationwith itself or a second plant; and repeating the steps for an additional3-10 generations to produce a plant derived from hybrid PX 11404796and/or pepper lines SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002. The plant derivedfrom hybrid PX 11404796 and/or pepper lines SHY-114-1145 andSHY-114-1002 may be an inbred line, and the aforementioned repeatedcrossing steps may be defined as comprising sufficient inbreeding toproduce the inbred line. In the method, it may be desirable to selectparticular plants resulting from step (c) for continued crossingaccording to steps (b) and (c). By selecting plants having one or moredesirable traits, a plant derived from hybrid PX 11404796 and/or pepperlines SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002 is obtained which possesses some ofthe desirable traits of the line/hybrid as well as potentially otherselected traits.

In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method ofproducing food or feed comprising: (a) obtaining a plant of pepperhybrid PX 11404796 and/or pepper lines SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002,wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity, and (b) collecting atleast one pepper from the plant.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, the genetic complement ofpepper hybrid PX 11404796 and/or pepper lines SHY-114-1145 andSHY-114-1002 is provided. The phrase “genetic complement” is used torefer to the aggregate of nucleotide sequences, the expression of whichsequences defines the phenotype of, in the present case, a pepper plant,or a cell or tissue of that plant. A genetic complement thus representsthe genetic makeup of a cell, tissue or plant, and a hybrid geneticcomplement represents the genetic make up of a hybrid cell, tissue orplant. The invention thus provides pepper plant cells that have agenetic complement in accordance with the pepper plant cells disclosedherein, and seeds and plants containing such cells.

Plant genetic complements may be assessed by genetic marker profiles,and by the expression of phenotypic traits that are characteristic ofthe expression of the genetic complement, e.g., isozyme typing profiles.It is understood that hybrid PX 11404796 and/or pepper linesSHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002 could be identified by any of the manywell known techniques such as, for example, Simple Sequence LengthPolymorphisms (SSLPs) (Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 18:6531-6535, 1990), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNAAmplification Fingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized AmplifiedRegions (SCARs), Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR),Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858,specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), andSingle Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., Science,280:1077-1082, 1998).

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides hybridgenetic complements, as represented by pepper plant cells, tissues,plants, and seeds, formed by the combination of a haploid geneticcomplement of a pepper plant of the invention with a haploid geneticcomplement of a second pepper plant, preferably, another, distinctpepper plant. In another aspect, the present invention provides a pepperplant regenerated from a tissue culture that comprises a hybrid geneticcomplement of this invention.

Any embodiment discussed herein with respect to one aspect of theinvention applies to other aspects of the invention as well, unlessspecifically noted.

The term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the standarddeviation of the mean for the device or method being employed todetermine the value. The use of the term “or” in the claims is used tomean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives onlyor the alternatives are mutually exclusive. When used in conjunctionwith the word “comprising” or other open language in the claims, thewords “a” and “an” denote “one or more,” unless specifically notedotherwise. The terms “comprise,” “have” and “include” are open-endedlinking verbs. Any forms or tenses of one or more of these verbs, suchas “comprises,” “comprising,” “has,” “having,” “includes” and“including,” are also open-ended. For example, any method that“comprises,” “has” or “includes” one or more steps is not limited topossessing only those one or more steps and also covers other unlistedsteps. Similarly, any plant that “comprises,” “has” or “includes” one ormore traits is not limited to possessing only those one or more traitsand covers other unlisted traits.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the detailed description and any specificexamples provided, while indicating specific embodiments of theinvention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changesand modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from this detaileddescription.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to plants,seeds and derivatives of pepper hybrid PX 11404796, pepper lineSHY-114-1145 and pepper line SHY-114-1002.

Hybrid PX 11404796 is a typical processing Hungarian sweet waxfruit-type, with an elongated shape, and typical smell and flavor of aHungarian sweet wax. It has higher yield, mainly due to more fruits perplant, than the standard O.P. variety ‘Sweet Banana’. It has no pungency(sweet). This hybrid is grown primarily in the U.S. for harvest as freshwhite fruits. It exhibits excellent fruit quality due to its uniformfruit size, white color, lack of surface cracking, and elongatecylindrical shape. The hybrid PX 11404796 fruits average 18.0 cmlong×4.5 cm wide, and weigh an average of 66 g. Immature color is white,and fruits mature to red. It has higher yield (796 g/plant, compared tothe hybrid ‘Bounty’ at 484 g/plant) mainly due to higher number offruits/plant (15 vs 9). Fruit weight was slightly less than the hybrid‘Bounty’ (51.3 vs 56.5 g). Plant height averaged 90 cm, with a compactplant habit. It matures to white in approximately 85 days aftertransplanting, compared to 81 days for the hybrid ‘Bounty’. PX 11404796is resistant to bacterial spot races 1, 2, and 3, (carries Bs2 gene)while ‘Bounty’ is susceptible (does not carry Bs2 gene). PX 11404796 iswell-adapted to the pepper growing areas of the Eastern U.S., withexcellent fruit quality.

A. Origin and Breeding History of Pepper Hybrid PX 11404796

The parents of hybrid PX 11404796 are SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002.These parents were created as follows:

The hybrid was created by crossing SHY-114-1145 to SHY-114-1002 in thefall of Year 17 crossing block (sown July 3 of Year 17). Seeds wereharvested from the female on or around December 20 of Year 17. Hybridwas first tested in Seminis Woodland field during the summer of Year 18.

Parent line SHY-114-1145 was developed at Seminis's Woodland, Calif.(CAWO) and Felda, Fla. (FLFE) open field breeding stations. SHY-114-1145was developed by selfing the hybrid “Golden Arrow”. The selections fromGolden Arrow were made as follows:

November of Year 11: Planted the F1 Golden Arrow in the open field atSalama, Guatemala. Selfed 2 individual F1 plants.

July of Year 12: Planted 100 F2 plants in the open field at FLFE.Selected 22 individual F2 plants.

April of Year 13: Planted 22 F3 lines in the field at CAWO. Selected 11individual F3 plants.

January of Year 14: Planted 11 F4 lines in the field at FLFE. Selected 4individual F4 plants.

July of Year 14: Planted 4 F5 lines in the field at FLFE. Selected 4individual F5 plants.

January of Year 15: Planted 4 F6 lines in the greenhouse at CAWO.Selected 2 individual plants One plant, designated 98F-1009-1, wasselected as being pure and designated SHY-114-1145. Seed of SHY-114-1145was given to Seminis' Foundation Seed (FS) division in July of Year 26.Subsequent increases of SHY-114-1145 trace back to this plant.

April of Year 27: Planted 100 plants of SHY-114-1145 in the field atCAWO as an observation plot.

Observations during the growing season confirmed SHY-114-1145 is uniformand stable.

Parent line SHY-114-1002, was developed at Seminis's Northern Californiabreeding station at Woodland, Calif. (CAWO) and Seminis's Floridabreeding station at Felda (FLFE. SHY-114-1002 was developed bybackcrossing the Bs2 gene 3 times into the line HP 200. HP 200 wasdeveloped from the cross PI 357509/Rubio de Mallorca. PI 357509 wasreceived from the USDA in Year 2 1985. Rubio de Mallorca was obtained inItaly in Year 1.

April of Year 3: Planted the F1 cross PI 357509/Rubio de Mallorca in theopen field at CAWO. Selfed 2 individual F1 plants.

July of Year 4: Planted 100 F2 plants in the open field at FLFE.Selected 8 individual F2 plants.

April of Year 5: Planted 8 F3 lines in the field at CAWO. Selected 10individual F3 plants.

January of Year 6: Planted 10 F4 lines in the field at FLFE. Selected 5individual F4 plants.

July of Year 7: Planted 5 F5 lines in the field at FLFE. Selected 4individual F5 plants.

April of Year 8: Planted 4 F6 lines in the field at CAWO. Selected 2individual plants and one plant, designated 91F-2446-1, was selected asbeing pure and designated HP 200. HP 200 was crossed to a source of theBs2 gene, ECW-20R, and then backcrossed 3 times to HP 200 to recover thewax phenotype. A single BC3F1 plant was selfed in Year 10 in thegreenhouse in CAWO, then 5 BC3F2 plants were selfed and screened forXanthomonas resistance. A single BC3F3 plant, designated 0016-0452, wasselected as being pure and designated SHY-114-1002. Seed of SHY-114-1002was given to Seminis' Foundation Seed (FS) division in August of Year18. Subsequent increases of SHY-114-1002 trace back to this plant.

January of Year 19: Planted 100 plants of SHY-114-1002 in the field atFLFE as an observation plot.

Observations during the growing season confirmed SHY-114-1002 is uniformand stable.

The parent lines are uniform and stable, as is a hybrid producedtherefrom. A small percentage of variants can occur within commerciallyacceptable limits for almost any characteristic during the course ofrepeated multiplication. However no variants are expected.

B. Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Pepper Hybrid PX11404796, Pepper Line SHY-114-1145 and Pepper Line SHY-114-1002

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a plant having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of pepper hybrid PX 11404796 and the parent linesthereof. A description of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of such plants is presented in Tables 1-2.

TABLE 1 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Hybrid PX11404796 Comparison Variety - Characteristic PX 11404796 SWEET BANANA 1.Species C. annuum C. annuum 2. Maturity (in region of best adaptability)days from transplanting until 35 52 mature green stage days fromtransplanting until 70 93 mature red or yellow stage days from directseeding until 74 91 mature green stage days from direct seeding until109  132  mature red or yellow stage 3. Plant habit compactsemi-spreading attitude upright/erect (De Cayenne,semi-upright/semi-erect Doux très long des Landes, Piquant d'Algérie)plant height 41.4 cm 56.5 cm plant width 40 cm 36.9 cm length of stemfrom cotyledon 13 cm 15.3 cm to first flower length of the thirdinternode 78 mm 138 mm (from soil surface) length of stem medium(Belsir, Lamuyo) long shortened internode (in upper present (Fehér,Kalocsai 601, absent part) Kalocsai 702) number of internodes betweenmore than three (Kalocsai 702) the first flower and the shortenedinternodes stem: hairiness of nodes weak (Andevalo, Clovis) absent orvery weak height medium (HRF) tall basal branches none few (2-3) branchflexibility willowy (Cayenne Long Red) willowy stem strength (breakagestrong intermediate resistance) 4. Leaf length of blade long (Cupido,Dolmy, short Encore, Mazurka, Monte) width of blade medium (Albaregia,medium Balaton, Danubia, Marconi, Merit) width 49 mm 39 mm length 97 mm77.1 mm petiole length 57 mm 22.2 mm color dark green medium green color(RHS color chart)  137A  137B intensity of green color dark (Dolmy,Tinto) medium mature leaf shape lanceolate (Diavolo, Recio) lanceolateleaf and stem pubescence absent absent undulation of margin weak (Douxtrès long des Landes) absent blistering weak (Pusztagold) very weakprofile in cross section strongly concave (Slávy) strongly concaveglossiness weak (De Cayenne, Doux très medium long des Landes) 5. Flowerpeduncle: attitude semi-drooping (Blondy) semi-drooping flowers per leafaxil  1  1 calyx lobes  6   6.6 petals  5   6.6 diameter 18 mm 22.8 mmcorolla color white white corolla throat markings yellow yellow anthercolor purple purple style length same as stamen same as stamenself-incompatibility absent absent 6. Fruit group Long Way (SweetBanana) Anaheim Chili (Sandia) color (before maturity) yellow (Fehér,Sweet banana) yellow intensity of color (before medium light maturity)immature fruit color yellow light green immature fruit color (RHS  150C 1B color chart) attitude/position erect/upright (Kalocsai 601,erect/upright Red Chili) length long (Doux d'Espagne, Majister) longdiameter medium (Doux italien, narrow Corno di toro) ratiolength/diameter large (Heldor, Lamuyo, large Magister, Tenno, Vidi)calyx diameter 22.5 mm 22.6 mm fruit length 136 mm 132.7 mm fruitdiameter at calyx 27.4 mm 30.3 mm attachment fruit diameter at mid-point23 mm 23.8 mm flesh thickness at mid-point 2.5 mm 2.7 mm average numberof fruits per   22.1   27.6 plant % large fruits 43% (weight range: 16%(weight range 20 to 40 g) 41 to 60 g) % medium fruits 47% (weight range:49% (weight range 10 to 19 g) 21 to 40 g) % small fruits 10% (weightrange: 35% (weight range 1 to 9 g) 1 to 20 g) average fruit weight 20.8gm 26.4 gm fruit shape (longitudinal narrowly triangular (De narrowlytriangular section) Cayenne, Demon) fruit shape (cross section, atcircular (Cherry Sweet, Doux circular level of placenta) très long desLandes) sinuation of pericarp at basal medium (Duna, Banán) absent orvery weak part sinuation of pericarp weak (Clovis, Sonar) absent or veryweak excluding basal part texture of surface smooth or very slightlyslightly wrinkled wrinkled (Milord) color (at maturity) red (Fehér,Lamuyo) red intensity of color (at maturity) dark dark mature fruitcolor red red mature fruit color (RHS color N34A N34A chart) glossinessstrong (Doux italien, Trophy) medium/moderate stalk cavity absent(Corinto, Corno absent di toro, Sweet banana, Sucette de Provence)pedicel length 37.7 mm 32.3 mm pedicel thickness 4.7 mm 3.9 mm pedicelshape curved curved pedicel cavity absent absent stalk: length long (DeCayenne, Sierra medium Nevada, Sweet banana) stalk: thickness medium(Doux italien, Surpas) medium base shape rounded rounded shape of apexmoderately acute very acute/pointed shape Elongate (Long Thin Cayenne)Elongate set concentrated scattered depth of interloculary groovesshallow (Milord, Topgirl) very shallow number of locules predominantlytwo (De Cayenne) predominantly three average number of locules   1.6  3thickness of flesh thin (Banán, Carré doux extra hâtif, thin Dous trèslong des Landes) calyx: aspect enveloping (cup-shaped) (De enveloping(cup-shaped) Cayenne, Sweet banana) pungency sweet sweet capsaicin inplacenta absent (Sonar) absent flavor mild pepper flavor strong pepperflavor glossiness shiny shiny 7. Seed seed cavity length 130.3 mm 118.2mm seed cavity diameter 19.2 mm 21.3 mm placenta length 65.1 mm 83.8 mmnumber of seeds per fruit   60.6 121  grams per 1000 seeds 4 gm 5.6 gmcolor yellow yellow 8. Anthocyanin coloration of: seedling hypocotylmoderate strong stem weak absent coloration of nodes moderate strongintensity of anthocyanin strong (Piquant d'Algérie, Zarai) mediumcoloration of nodes leaf absent absent pedicel absent absent calyxabsent absent anther present (Lamuyo) present fruit anthocyanincoloration weak moderate beginning of flowering (1^(st) early (Carrédoux extra hâtif, early flower on 2^(nd) flowering node) Cupido, Fehér,Flaviano, Lito, Trophy) time of maturity very early (Koral, Macska veryearly sárga, Madison) *These are typical values. Values may vary due toenvironment. Other values that are substantially equivalent are alsowithin the scope of the invention.

TABLE 2 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of LineSHY-114-1145 CHARACTERISTIC SHY-114-1145 Sweet Banana 1. Species C.annuum C. annuum 2. Maturity (in region of best adaptability) days fromtransplanting until 40 49 mature green stage days from transplantinguntil 75 92 mature red or yellow stage days from direct seeding until 8190 mature green stage days from direct seeding until 116  133  maturered or yellow stage 3. Plant habit compact semi-spreading attitudeupright/erect (De Cayenne, Doux upright/erect très long des Landes,Piquant d'Algérie) plant height 42.4 cm 59.1 cm plant width 36.8 cm 40.4cm length of stem from cotyledon 14.4 cm 18.3 cm to first flower lengthof the third internode 63.7 mm 119.3 mm (from soil surface) length ofstem medium (Belsir, Lamuyo) long shortened internode (in upper present(Fehér, Kalocsai 601, present part) Kalocsai 702) number of internodesbetween more than three (Kalocsai 702) more than three the first flowerand the shortened internodes stem: hairiness of nodes absent or veryweak (Arlequin) weak height medium (HRF) tall basal branches few (2-3)none branch flexibility willowy (Cayenne Long Red) willowy stem strength(breakage strong strong resistance) 4. Leaf length of blade medium(Atol, Blondy, Marconi, medium Merit, Anthea) width of blade narrow (DeCayenne, Pusztagold, medium Szentesi cseresznye) width 54 mm 49.9 mmlength 90.3 mm 90 mm petiole length 50.6 mm 46.8 mm color medium greendark green color (RHS Color Chart value)   137B  137A intensity of greencolor medium (Doux très long dark des Landes, Merit) mature leaf shapeovate (Balico, Sonar) lanceolate leaf and stem pubescence absent absentundulation of margin strong (Sucette de Provence, Tosca) mediumblistering very strong (Florian) medium profile in cross sectionstrongly concave (Slávy) strongly concave glossiness weak (De Cayenne,Doux très weak long des Landes) 5. Flower peduncle: attitude erect(Fehér, Red Chili) semi-drooping flowers per leaf axil  1   1.1 calyxlobes  6   6.1 petals  6   6.2 diameter 25.8 mm 23.5 mm corolla colorwhite white corolla throat markings white white anther color yellowyellow style length exceeds stamen exceeds stamen self-incompatibilitypresent present 6. Fruit group Long Way (Sweet Banana) Long Way (SweetBanana) color (before maturity) yellow (Fehér, Sweet banana) greenintensity of color (before light medium maturity) immature fruit coloryellow medium green immature fruit color (RHS  154B  144A Color Chartvalue) attitude/position erect/upright (Kalocsai 601, Red Chili)drooping/pendent length long (Doux d'Espagne, Majister) long diameternarrow (Doux très long des Landes) medium ratio length/diameter large(Heldor, Lamuyo, large Magister, Tenno, Vidi) calyx diameter 28.8 mm24.7 mm fruit length 148.8 mm 127.7 mm fruit diameter at calyx 43 mm31.3 mm attachment fruit diameter at mid-point 35.8 mm 31.5 mm fleshthickness at mid-point 5.2 mm 2.8 mm average number of fruits per 13  24.1 plant % large fruits 45.50 (weight range: 22.40 (weight range 41to 92.5 g) 36 to 60 g) % medium fruits 43 (weight range: 36.60 (weightrange 21 to 40 g) 21 to 35 g) % small fruits 11.60 (weight range: 41.10(weight range 1 to 20 g) 1 to 20 g) average fruit weight 39.5 gm 25.6 gmfruit shape (longitudinal horn-shaped (Tauro) horn-shaped section) fruitshape (cross section, at circular (Cherry Sweet, Doux circular level ofplacenta) très long des Landes) sinuation of pericarp at basal strong(Alfa) weak part sinuation of pericarp excluding strong (De Cayenne,Doux italien) weak basal part texture of surface strongly wrinkled/rough(Sierra smooth or very Nevada) slightly wrinkled color (at maturity) red(Fehér, Lamuyo) red intensity of color (at maturity) medium dark maturefruit color red red mature fruit color (RHS Color N34B  46A Chart value)glossiness strong (Doux italien, Trophy) strong stalk cavity absent(Corinto, Corno di toro, absent Sweet banana, Sucette de Provence)pedicel length 37.3 mm 35 mm pedicel thickness 9.1 mm 4.1 mm pedicelshape straight curved pedicel cavity absent absent stalk: length medium(Fehér, Sonar) long stalk: thickness medium (Foux italien, Surpas)medium base shape rounded rounded shape of apex moderately acute veryacute/pointed shape elongate (Long Thin Cayenne) elongate (Long ThinCayenne) set concentrated concentrated depth of interloculary groovesshallow (Milord, Topgirl) shallow number of locules equally three andfour (Lamuyo, equally two and three Sonar) % fruits with one locule  17%    0% % fruits with two locules   20% 36.70% % fruits with threelocules 30.20% 53.40% % fruits with four locules 33.30%   10% % fruitswith five locules    0%    0% average number of locules   3.6   2.7thickness of flesh thin (Banán, Carré doux thin extra hâtif, Dous trèslong des Landes) calyx: aspect non-enveloping/saucer- enveloping(cup-shaped) shaped (Lamuyo, Sonar) pungency sweet hot capsaicin inplacenta absent (Sonar) absent mg Capsaicin per gram dry fruit 0 mg 0 mgScoville Units (dry fruit)  0  0 flavor moderate pepper flavor strongpepper flavor glossiness shiny shiny 7. Seed seed cavity length 139.4 mm112.2 mm seed cavity diameter 29.5 mm 24.2 mm placenta length 87 mm 80.8mm number of seeds per fruit  214.9  125.5 grams per 1000 seeds 5.7 gm5.3 gm color yellow yellow 8. Anthocyanin coloration of: seedlinghypocotyl strong (Lamuyo) strong stem strong strong node strong(California wonder) strong stem: intensity of anthocyanin very strong(Alwin, Koral, very strong coloration of nodes Lito, Pusztagold) leafweak absent pedicel absent absent calyx absent absent anther present(Lamuyo) present Fruit: anthocyanin coloration absent (Lamuyo) absentbeginning of flowering (1^(st) early (Carré doux extra hâtif, Cupido,late flower on 2^(nd) flowering node) Fehér, Flaviano, Lito, Trophy)time of maturity early (Fehér, Lady Bell, Topgirl) medium *These aretypical values. Values may vary due to environment. Other values thatare substantially equivalent are also within the scope of the invention.

C. Breeding Pepper Plants

One aspect of the current invention concerns methods for producing seedof pepper hybrid PX 11404796 involving crossing pepper linesSHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002. Alternatively, in other embodiments ofthe invention, hybrid PX 11404796, line SHY-114-1145, or lineSHY-114-1002 may be crossed with itself or with any second plant. Suchmethods can be used for propagation of hybrid PX 11404796 and/or thepepper lines SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002, or can be used to produceplants that are derived from hybrid PX 11404796 and/or the pepper linesSHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002. Plants derived from hybrid PX 11404796and/or the pepper lines SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002 may be used, incertain embodiments, for the development of new pepper varieties.

The development of new varieties using one or more starting varieties iswell known in the art. In accordance with the invention, novel varietiesmay be created by crossing hybrid PX 11404796 followed by multiplegenerations of breeding according to such well known methods. Newvarieties may be created by crossing with any second plant. In selectingsuch a second plant to cross for the purpose of developing novel lines,it may be desired to choose those plants which either themselves exhibitone or more selected desirable characteristics or which exhibit thedesired characteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Once initialcrosses have been made, inbreeding and selection take place to producenew varieties. For development of a uniform line, often five or moregenerations of selfing and selection are involved.

Uniform lines of new varieties may also be developed by way ofdouble-haploids. This technique allows the creation of true breedinglines without the need for multiple generations of selfing andselection. In this manner true breeding lines can be produced in aslittle as one generation. Haploid embryos may be produced frommicrospores, pollen, anther cultures, or ovary cultures. The haploidembryos may then be doubled autonomously, or by chemical treatments(e.g. colchicine treatment). Alternatively, haploid embryos may be growninto haploid plants and treated to induce chromosome doubling. In eithercase, fertile homozygous plants are obtained. In accordance with theinvention, any of such techniques may be used in connection with a plantof the invention and progeny thereof to achieve a homozygous line.

Backcrossing can also be used to improve an inbred plant. Backcrossingtransfers a specific desirable trait from one inbred or non-inbredsource to an inbred that lacks that trait. This can be accomplished, forexample, by first crossing a superior inbred (A) (recurrent parent) to adonor inbred (non-recurrent parent), which carries the appropriate locusor loci for the trait in question. The progeny of this cross are thenmated back to the superior recurrent parent (A) followed by selection inthe resultant progeny for the desired trait to be transferred from thenon-recurrent parent. After five or more backcross generations withselection for the desired trait, the progeny have the characteristicbeing transferred, but are like the superior parent for most or almostall other loci. The last backcross generation would be selfed to givepure breeding progeny for the trait being transferred.

The plants of the present invention are particularly well suited for thedevelopment of new lines based on the elite nature of the geneticbackground of the plants. In selecting a second plant to cross with PX11404796 and/or pepper lines SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002 for thepurpose of developing novel pepper lines, it will typically be preferredto choose those plants which either themselves exhibit one or moreselected desirable characteristics or which exhibit the desiredcharacteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Examples of desirabletraits may include, in specific embodiments, high seed yield, high seedgermination, seedling vigor, high fruit yield, disease tolerance orresistance, and adaptability for soil and climate conditions.Consumer-driven traits, such as a fruit shape, color, texture, and tasteare other examples of traits that may be incorporated into new lines ofpepper plants developed by this invention.

D. Performance Characteristics

As described above, hybrid PX 11404796 exhibits desirable traits, asconferred by pepper lines SHY-114-1145 and SHY-114-1002. The performancecharacteristics of hybrid PX 11404796 and pepper lines SHY-114-1145 andSHY-114-1002 were the subject of an objective analysis of theperformance traits relative to other varieties. The results of theanalysis are presented below.

TABLE 3 Performance Characteristics for Hybrid PX 11404796 andComparative varieties Color Maturity Yield Length Width Av. wt % dryVariety mature (DAT) g/plt cm cm g/fruit matter Bounty red 81 484 17.73.6 56.5 5.1 Ethem red 82 833 17.4 4.5 67.3 5.1 PX 11404796 red 86 79618.2 3.8 51.3 5.5

E. Further Embodiments of the Invention

In certain aspects of the invention, plants described herein areprovided modified to include at least a first desired heritable trait.Such plants may, in one embodiment, be developed by a plant breedingtechnique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to a genetic locus transferred into the plant viathe backcrossing technique. The term single locus converted plant asused herein refers to those pepper plants which are developed by a plantbreeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to the single locus transferred into the varietyvia the backcrossing technique. By essentially all of the morphologicaland physiological characteristics, it is meant that the characteristicsof a plant are recovered that are otherwise present when compared in thesame environment, other than an occasional variant trait that mightarise during backcrossing or direct introduction of a transgene.

Backcrossing methods can be used with the present invention to improveor introduce a characteristic into the present variety. The parentalpepper plant which contributes the locus for the desired characteristicis termed the nonrecurrent or donor parent. This terminology refers tothe fact that the nonrecurrent parent is used one time in the backcrossprotocol and therefore does not recur. The parental pepper plant towhich the locus or loci from the nonrecurrent parent are transferred isknown as the recurrent parent as it is used for several rounds in thebackcrossing protocol.

In a typical backcross protocol, the original variety of interest(recurrent parent) is crossed to a second variety (nonrecurrent parent)that carries the single locus of interest to be transferred. Theresulting progeny from this cross are then crossed again to therecurrent parent and the process is repeated until a pepper plant isobtained wherein essentially all of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered in the convertedplant, in addition to the single transferred locus from the nonrecurrentparent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for asuccessful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol isto alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the originalvariety. To accomplish this, a single locus of the recurrent variety ismodified or substituted with the desired locus from the nonrecurrentparent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desiredgenetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphologicalconstitution of the original variety. The choice of the particularnonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross; one ofthe major purposes is to add some commercially desirable trait to theplant. The exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristicor trait being altered and the genetic distance between the recurrentand nonrecurrent parents. Although backcrossing methods are simplifiedwhen the characteristic being transferred is a dominant allele, arecessive allele, or an additive allele (between recessive anddominant), may also be transferred. In this instance it may be necessaryto introduce a test of the progeny to determine if the desiredcharacteristic has been successfully transferred.

In one embodiment, progeny pepper plants of a backcross in which a plantdescribed herein is the recurrent parent comprise (i) the desired traitfrom the non-recurrent parent and (ii) all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of pepper the recurrent parent asdetermined at the 5% significance level when grown in the sameenvironmental conditions.

New varieties can also be developed from more than two parents. Thetechnique, known as modified backcrossing, uses different recurrentparents during the backcrossing. Modified backcrossing may be used toreplace the original recurrent parent with a variety having certain moredesirable characteristics or multiple parents may be used to obtaindifferent desirable characteristics from each.

With the development of molecular markers associated with particulartraits, it is possible to add additional traits into an established germline, such as represented here, with the end result being substantiallythe same base germplasm with the addition of a new trait or traits.Molecular breeding, as described in Moose and Mumm, 2008 (PlantPhysiology, 147: 969-977), for example, and elsewhere, provides amechanism for integrating single or multiple traits or QTL into an eliteline. This molecular breeding-facilitated movement of a trait or traitsinto an elite line may encompass incorporation of a particular genomicfragment associated with a particular trait of interest into the eliteline by the mechanism of identification of the integrated genomicfragment with the use of flanking or associated marker assays. In theembodiment represented here, one, two, three or four genomic loci, forexample, may be integrated into an elite line via this methodology. Whenthis elite line containing the additional loci is further crossed withanother parental elite line to produce hybrid offspring, it is possibleto then incorporate at least eight separate additional loci into thehybrid. These additional loci may confer, for example, such traits as adisease resistance or a fruit quality trait. In one embodiment, eachlocus may confer a separate trait. In another embodiment, loci may needto be homozygous and exist in each parent line to confer a trait in thehybrid. In yet another embodiment, multiple loci may be combined toconfer a single robust phenotype of a desired trait.

Many single locus traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new inbred but that can be improvedby backcrossing techniques. Single locus traits may or may not betransgenic; examples of these traits include, but are not limited to,herbicide resistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal, or viral disease,insect resistance, modified fatty acid or carbohydrate metabolism, andaltered nutritional quality. These comprise genes generally inheritedthrough the nucleus.

Direct selection may be applied where the single locus acts as adominant trait. For this selection process, the progeny of the initialcross are assayed for viral resistance and/or the presence of thecorresponding gene prior to the backcrossing. Selection eliminates anyplants that do not have the desired gene and resistance trait, and onlythose plants that have the trait are used in the subsequent backcross.This process is then repeated for all additional backcross generations.

Selection of pepper plants for breeding is not necessarily dependent onthe phenotype of a plant and instead can be based on geneticinvestigations. For example, one can utilize a suitable genetic markerwhich is closely genetically linked to a trait of interest. One of thesemarkers can be used to identify the presence or absence of a trait inthe offspring of a particular cross, and can be used in selection ofprogeny for continued breeding. This technique is commonly referred toas marker assisted selection. Any other type of genetic marker or otherassay which is able to identify the relative presence or absence of atrait of interest in a plant can also be useful for breeding purposes.Procedures for marker assisted selection are well known in the art. Suchmethods will be of particular utility in the case of recessive traitsand variable phenotypes, or where conventional assays may be moreexpensive, time consuming or otherwise disadvantageous. Types of geneticmarkers which could be used in accordance with the invention include,but are not necessarily limited to, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms(SSLPs) (Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 1 8:6531-6535, 1990),Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNA AmplificationFingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs),Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), Amplified FragmentLength Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858, specifically incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety), and Single NucleotidePolymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., Science, 280:1077-1082, 1998).

F. Plants Derived by Genetic Engineering

Many useful traits that can be introduced by backcrossing, as well asdirectly into a plant, are those which are introduced by genetictransformation techniques. Genetic transformation may therefore be usedto insert a selected transgene into a plant of the invention or may,alternatively, be used for the preparation of transgenes which can beintroduced by backcrossing. Methods for the transformation of plantsthat are well known to those of skill in the art and applicable to manycrop species include, but are not limited to, electroporation,microprojectile bombardment, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation anddirect DNA uptake by protoplasts.

To effect transformation by electroporation, one may employ eitherfriable tissues, such as a suspension culture of cells or embryogeniccallus or alternatively one may transform immature embryos or otherorganized tissue directly. In this technique, one would partiallydegrade the cell walls of the chosen cells by exposing them topectin-degrading enzymes (pectolyases) or mechanically wound tissues ina controlled manner.

An efficient method for delivering transforming DNA segments to plantcells is microprojectile bombardment. In this method, particles arecoated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propellingforce. Exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten,platinum, and preferably, gold. For the bombardment, cells in suspensionare concentrated on filters or solid culture medium. Alternatively,immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged on solid culturemedium. The cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriatedistance below the macroprojectile stopping plate.

An illustrative embodiment of a method for delivering DNA into plantcells by acceleration is the Biolistics Particle Delivery System, whichcan be used to propel particles coated with DNA or cells through ascreen, such as a stainless steel or Nytex screen, onto a surfacecovered with target cells. The screen disperses the particles so thatthey are not delivered to the recipient cells in large aggregates.Microprojectile bombardment techniques are widely applicable, and may beused to transform virtually any plant species.

Agrobacterium-mediated transfer is another widely applicable system forintroducing gene loci into plant cells. An advantage of the technique isthat DNA can be introduced into whole plant tissues, thereby bypassingthe need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast. ModernAgrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in E.coli as well as Agrobacterium, allowing for convenient manipulations(Klee et al., Bio-Technology, 3(7):637-642, 1985). Moreover, recenttechnological advances in vectors for Agrobacterium-mediated genetransfer have improved the arrangement of genes and restriction sites inthe vectors to facilitate the construction of vectors capable ofexpressing various polypeptide coding genes. The vectors described haveconvenient multi-linker regions flanked by a promoter and apolyadenylation site for direct expression of inserted polypeptidecoding genes. Additionally, Agrobacterium containing both armed anddisarmed Ti genes can be used for transformation.

In those plant strains where Agrobacterium-mediated transformation isefficient, it is the method of choice because of the facile and definednature of the gene locus transfer. The use of Agrobacterium-mediatedplant integrating vectors to introduce DNA into plant cells is wellknown in the art (Fraley et al., Bio/Technology, 3:629-635, 1985; U.S.Pat. No. 5,563,055).

Transformation of plant protoplasts also can be achieved using methodsbased on calcium phosphate precipitation, polyethylene glycol treatment,electroporation, and combinations of these treatments (see, e.g.,Potrykus et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 199:183-188, 1985; Omirulleh et al.,Plant Mol. Biol., 21(3):415-428, 1993; Fromm et al., Nature,312:791-793, 1986; Uchimiya et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 204:204, 1986;Marcotte et al., Nature, 335:454, 1988). Transformation of plants andexpression of foreign genetic elements is exemplified in Choi et al.(Plant Cell Rep., 13: 344-348, 1994), and Ellul et al. (Theor. Appl.Genet., 107:462-469, 2003).

A number of promoters have utility for plant gene expression for anygene of interest including but not limited to selectable markers,scoreable markers, genes for pest tolerance, disease resistance,nutritional enhancements and any other gene of agronomic interest.Examples of constitutive promoters useful for plant gene expressioninclude, but are not limited to, the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV)P-35S promoter, which confers constitutive, high-level expression inmost plant tissues (see, e.g., Odel et al., Nature, 313:810, 1985),including in monocots (see, e.g., Dekeyser et al., Plant Cell, 2:591,1990; Terada and Shimamoto, Mol. Gen. Genet., 220:389, 1990); a tandemlyduplicated version of the CaMV 35S promoter, the enhanced 35S promoter(P-e35S);1 the nopaline synthase promoter (An et al., Plant Physiol.,88:547, 1988); the octopine synthase promoter (Fromm et al., Plant Cell,1:977, 1989); and the figwort mosaic virus (P-FMV) promoter as describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619 and an enhanced version of the FMV promoter(P-eFMV) where the promoter sequence of P-FMV is duplicated in tandem;the cauliflower mosaic virus 19S promoter; a sugarcane bacilliform viruspromoter; a commelina yellow mottle virus promoter; and other plant DNAvirus promoters known to express in plant cells.

A variety of plant gene promoters that are regulated in response toenvironmental, hormonal, chemical, and/or developmental signals can alsobe used for expression of an operably linked gene in plant cells,including promoters regulated by (1) heat (Callis et al., PlantPhysiol., 88:965, 1988), (2) light (e.g., pea rbcS-3A promoter,Kuhlemeier et al., Plant Cell, 1:471, 1989; maize rbcS promoter,Schaffner and Sheen, Plant Cell, 3:997, 1991; or chlorophyll a/b-bindingprotein promoter, Simpson et al., EMBO J., 4:2723, 1985), (3) hormones,such as abscisic acid (Marcotte et al., Plant Cell, 1:969, 1989), (4)wounding (e.g., wunl, Siebertz et al., Plant Cell, 1:961, 1989); or (5)chemicals such as methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, or Safener. It mayalso be advantageous to employ organ-specific promoters (e.g., Roshal etal., EMBO J., 6:1155, 1987; Schernthaner et al., EMBO J., 7:1249, 1988;Bustos et al., Plant Cell, 1:839, 1989).

Exemplary nucleic acids which may be introduced to plants of thisinvention include, for example, DNA sequences or genes from anotherspecies, or even genes or sequences which originate with or are presentin the same species, but are incorporated into recipient cells bygenetic engineering methods rather than classical reproduction orbreeding techniques. However, the term “exogenous” is also intended torefer to genes that are not normally present in the cell beingtransformed, or perhaps simply not present in the form, structure, etc.,as found in the transforming DNA segment or gene, or genes which arenormally present and that one desires to express in a manner thatdiffers from the natural expression pattern, e.g., to over-express.Thus, the term “exogenous” gene or DNA is intended to refer to any geneor DNA segment that is introduced into a recipient cell, regardless ofwhether a similar gene may already be present in such a cell. The typeof DNA included in the exogenous DNA can include DNA which is alreadypresent in the plant cell, DNA from another plant, DNA from a differentorganism, or a DNA generated externally, such as a DNA sequencecontaining an antisense message of a gene, or a DNA sequence encoding asynthetic or modified version of a gene.

Many hundreds if not thousands of different genes are known and couldpotentially be introduced into a pepper plant according to theinvention. Non-limiting examples of particular genes and correspondingphenotypes one may choose to introduce into a pepper plant include oneor more genes for insect tolerance, such as a Bacillus thuringiensis(B.t.) gene, pest tolerance such as genes for fungal disease control,herbicide tolerance such as genes conferring glyphosate tolerance, andgenes for quality improvements such as yield, nutritional enhancements,environmental or stress tolerances, or any desirable changes in plantphysiology, growth, development, morphology or plant product(s). Forexample, structural genes would include any gene that confers insecttolerance including but not limited to a Bacillus insect control proteingene as described in WO 99/31248, herein incorporated by reference inits entirety, U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,052, herein incorporated by referencein its entirety, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,500,365 and 5,880,275, hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety. In another embodiment, thestructural gene can confer tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate asconferred by genes including, but not limited to Agrobacterium strainCP4 glyphosate resistant EPSPS gene (aroA:CP4) as described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,633,435, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, orglyphosate oxidoreductase gene (GOX) as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,463,175, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Alternatively, the DNA coding sequences can affect these phenotypes byencoding a non-translatable RNA molecule that causes the targetedinhibition of expression of an endogenous gene, for example viaantisense- or cosuppression-mediated mechanisms (see, for example, Birdet al., Biotech. Gen. Engin. Rev., 9:207, 1991). The RNA could also be acatalytic RNA molecule (i.e., a ribozyme) engineered to cleave a desiredendogenous mRNA product (see for example, Gibson and Shillito, Mol.Biotech., 7:125,1997). Thus, any gene which produces a protein or mRNAwhich expresses a phenotype or morphology change of interest is usefulfor the practice of the present invention.

G. Definitions

In the description and tables herein, a number of terms are used. Inorder to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, the following definitions are provided:

Allele: Any of one or more alternative forms of a gene locus, all ofwhich alleles relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cellor organism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding locion a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Backcrossing: A process in which a breeder repeatedly crosses hybridprogeny, for example a first generation hybrid (F₁), back to one of theparents of the hybrid progeny. Backcrossing can be used to introduce oneor more single locus conversions from one genetic background intoanother.

Crossing: The mating of two parent plants.

Cross-pollination: Fertilization by the union of two gametes fromdifferent plants.

Diploid: A cell or organism having two sets of chromosomes.

Emasculate: The removal of plant male sex organs or the inactivation ofthe organs with a cytoplasmic or nuclear genetic factor or a chemicalagent conferring male sterility.

Enzymes: Molecules which can act as catalysts in biological reactions.

F₁ Hybrid: The first generation progeny of the cross of two nonisogenicplants.

Genotype: The genetic constitution of a cell or organism.

Haploid: A cell or organism having one set of the two sets ofchromosomes in a diploid.

Linkage: A phenomenon wherein alleles on the same chromosome tend tosegregate together more often than expected by chance if theirtransmission was independent.

Marker: A readily detectable phenotype, preferably inherited incodominant fashion (both alleles at a locus in a diploid heterozygoteare readily detectable), with no environmental variance component, i.e.,heritability of 1.

Phenotype: The detectable characteristics of a cell or organism, whichcharacteristics are the manifestation of gene expression.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL): Quantitative trait loci (QTL) refer togenetic loci that control to some degree numerically representabletraits that are usually continuously distributed.

Resistance: As used herein, the terms “resistance” and “tolerance” areused interchangeably to describe plants that show no symptoms to aspecified biotic pest, pathogen, abiotic influence or environmentalcondition. These terms are also used to describe plants showing somesymptoms but that are still able to produce marketable product with anacceptable yield. Some plants that are referred to as resistant ortolerant are only so in the sense that they may still produce a crop,even though the plants are stunted and the yield is reduced.

Regeneration: The development of a plant from tissue culture.

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) color chart value: The RHS color chartis a standardized reference which allows accurate identification of anycolor. A color's designation on the chart describes its hue, brightnessand saturation. A color is precisely named by the RHS color chart byidentifying the group name, sheet number and letter, e.g., Yellow-OrangeGroup 19A or Red Group 41B.

Self-pollination: The transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigmaof the same plant.

Single Locus Converted (Conversion) Plant: Plants which are developed bya plant breeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially allof the morphological and physiological characteristics of a peppervariety are recovered in addition to the characteristics of the singlelocus transferred into the variety via the backcrossing technique and/orby genetic transformation.

Substantially Equivalent: A characteristic that, when compared, does notshow a statistically significant difference (e.g., p=0.05) from themean.

Tissue Culture: A composition comprising isolated cells of the same or adifferent type or a collection of such cells organized into parts of aplant.

Transgene: A genetic locus comprising a sequence which has beenintroduced into the genome of a pepper plant by transformation.

H. Deposit Information

A deposit of pepper hybrid PX 11404796 and inbred parent lineSHY-114-1145, disclosed above and recited in the claims, has been madewith the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 10801 UniversityBlvd., Manassas, Va. 20110-2209. The date of deposit was Oct. 23, 2013.The accession numbers for those deposited seeds of pepper hybrid PX11404796 and inbred parent line SHY-114-1145 are ATCC Accession No.PTA-120667 and ATCC Accession No. PTA-120668, respectively. Uponissuance of a patent, all restrictions upon the deposits will beremoved, and the deposits are intended to meet all of the requirementsof 37 C.F.R. §1.801-1.809. The deposits will be maintained in thedepository for a period of 30 years, or 5 years after the last request,or for the effective life of the patent, whichever is longer, and willbe replaced if necessary during that period.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail byway of illustration and example for purposes of clarity andunderstanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modificationsmay be practiced within the scope of the invention, as limited only bythe scope of the appended claims.

All references cited herein are hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pepper plant comprising at least a first set ofthe chromosomes of pepper line SHY-114-1145, a sample of seed of saidline having been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-120668.
 2. Aseed comprising at least a first set of the chromosomes of pepper lineSHY-114-1145, a sample of seed of said line having been deposited underATCC Accession Number PTA-120668.
 3. The plant of claim 1, which is aninbred.
 4. The plant of claim 1, which is a hybrid.
 5. The seed of claim2, which is an inbred.
 6. The seed of claim 2, which is a hybrid.
 7. Theplant of claim 4, wherein the hybrid plant is pepper hybrid PX 11404796,a sample of seed of said hybrid PX 11404796 having been deposited underATCC Accession Number PTA-120667.
 8. The seed of claim 6, defined as aseed of pepper hybrid PX 11404796, a sample of seed of said hybrid PX11404796 having been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-120667.9. The seed of claim 2, defined as a seed of line SHY-114-1145.
 10. Aplant part of the plant of claim
 1. 11. The plant part of claim 10,further defined as a leaf, an ovule, pollen, a fruit, or a cell.
 12. Apepper plant having all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of the pepper plant of claim
 7. 13. A tissue culture ofregenerable cells of the plant of claim
 1. 14. The tissue cultureaccording to claim 13, comprising cells or protoplasts from a plant partselected from the group consisting of embryos, meristems, cotyledons,pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, flower, seed andstalks.
 15. A pepper plant regenerated from the tissue culture of claim13, wherein said plant otherwise comprises all of the morphological andphysiological characteristics of the pepper plant comprising at least afirst set of the chromosomes of pepper line SHY-114-1145, a sample ofseed of said line having been deposited under ATCC Accession NumberPTA-120668.
 16. A method of vegetatively propagating the pepper plant ofclaim 1 comprising the steps of: (a) collecting tissue capable of beingpropagated from the plant according to claim 1; (b) cultivating saidtissue to obtain proliferated shoots; and (c) rooting said proliferatedshoots to obtain rooted plantlets.
 17. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising growing at least a first pepper plant from said rootedplantlets.
 18. A method of introducing a desired trait into a pepperline comprising: (a) crossing a plant of line SHY-114-1145 with a secondpepper plant that comprises a desired trait to produce F1 progeny, asample of seed of said line having been deposited under ATCC AccessionNumber PTA-120668; (b) selecting an F1 progeny that comprises thedesired trait; (c) backcrossing the selected F1 progeny with a plant ofline SHY-114-1145 to produce backcross progeny; (d) selecting backcrossprogeny comprising the desired trait and the physiological andmorphological characteristic of pepper line SHY-114-1145; and (e)repeating steps (c) and (d) three or more times to produce selectedfourth or higher backcross progeny that comprise the desired trait. 19.A pepper plant produced by the method of claim
 18. 20. A method ofproducing a pepper plant comprising an added trait, the methodcomprising introducing a transgene conferring the trait into a plant ofpepper hybrid PX 11404796, or pepper line SHY-114-1145, a sample of seedof said hybrid and line having been deposited under ATCC AccessionNumber PTA-120667, and ATCC Accession Number PTA-120668, respectively.21. A plant produced by the method of claim
 20. 22. The plant of claim1, further comprising a transgene.
 23. The plant of claim 22, whereinthe transgene confers a trait selected from the group consisting of malesterility, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance,disease resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism, environmental stresstolerance, modified carbohydrate metabolism and modified proteinmetabolism.
 24. The plant of claim 1, further comprising a single locusconversion, wherein said plant otherwise comprises essentially all ofthe morphological and physiological characteristics of the pepper plantcomprising at least a first set of the chromosomes of pepper lineSHY-114-1145, a sample of seed of said line having been deposited underATCC Accession Number PTA-120668.
 25. The plant of claim 24, wherein thesingle locus conversion confers a trait selected from the groupconsisting of male sterility, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance,pest resistance, disease resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism,environmental stress tolerance, modified carbohydrate metabolism andmodified protein metabolism.
 26. A method for producing a seed of apepper plant derived from at least one of pepper hybrid PX 11404796, orpepper line SHY-114-1145 comprising the steps of: (a) crossing a pepperplant of hybrid PX 11404796, or line SHY-114-1145 with itself or asecond pepper plant; a sample of seed of said hybrid and line havingbeen deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-120667, and ATCCAccession Number PTA-120668, respectively; and (b) allowing seed of ahybrid PX 11404796, or line SHY-114-1145-derived pepper plant to form.27. The method of claim 26, further comprising the steps of: (c) selfinga plant grown from said hybrid PX 11404796, or SHY-114-1145-derivedpepper seed to yield additional hybrid PX 11404796, or lineSHY-114-1145-derived pepper seed; (d) growing said additional hybrid PX11404796, or line SHY-114-1145-derived pepper seed of step (c) to yieldadditional hybrid PX 11404796, or line SHY-114-1145-derived pepperplants; and (e) repeating the crossing and growing steps of (c) and (d)to generate at least a first further hybrid PX 11404796, or lineSHY-114-1145-derived pepper plant.
 28. The method of claim 26, whereinthe second pepper plant is of an inbred pepper line.
 29. The method ofclaim 27, further comprising: (f) crossing the further hybrid PX11404796, or SHY-114-1145-derived pepper plant with a second pepperplant to produce seed of a hybrid progeny plant.
 30. A plant part of theplant of claim
 7. 31. The plant part of claim 30, further defined as aleaf, an ovule, pollen, a fruit, or a cell.
 32. A method of producing apepper seed comprising crossing the plant of claim 1 with itself or asecond pepper plant and allowing seed to form.
 33. A method of producinga pepper comprising: (a) obtaining the plant according to claim 1,wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity; and (b) collecting apepper from the plant.